page_title: Forests of the Iberian Peninsula
section_title: Groves, riparian forests, and valley floors
hierarchical_section_title: Forests of the Iberian Peninsula / The Mediterranean region / Groves, riparian forests, and valley floors
context_page_description: The woodlands of the Iberian Peninsula are distinct ecosystems on the Iberian Peninsula. Although the various regions are each characterized by distinct vegetation, the borders between these regions are not clearly defined, and there are some similarities across the peninsula.
context_section_description: In the groves, riparian forests, and valley floors, there are enclaves of deciduous forests that favor the moist ground, which is constant almost all year; this allows them to avoid the consequences of the summer drought so characteristic of a Mediterranean climate.
  There we see a characteristic pattern, as we move outward from the edge of the riverbed, so that the woodlands that are most dependent on the aquifer are on the riverbank, that is, (alders and willow groves) and those less dependent on water are located further away, such as the (ash, elm, and poplar groves).
  These woodlands are formed by willows, poplars, alder, ash, elm and sometimes by Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica), lime trees, birches and hazel trees. When the humidity starts to diminish in barren areas of the Ebro valley, the Levante and the southern half of the peninsula, the dryness is often accompanied by an increase of salts in the ground; under such conditions one can find formations of tamarisk shrubs, oleanders and giant reeds (Saccharum ravenae), sometimes accompanied by heather. In soils rich in silica but not in salts, such as those of the Sierra Morena and the Montes de Toledo, spurge appears, accompanied, in the warmest places, by oleanders and tamarisks.
  In the lowlands further inland, above all in the marls and clay soils, field elms (Ulmus minor) and poplar groves are more common, with occasional ashes and willows. 
  At the bottom of granite valleys and on the siliceous riverbanks, there are very typical formations of ash with Pyrenean oak, especially at the foot of thin interior mountain ranges. The sheltered gorges of the Serranía de Cuenca have mixed riparian forests of lime and hazel trees, with ashes, willows and Wych elm (Ulmus glabra).
  Because these woods occupied some of the most fertile lands, where people have planted orchards since ancient times, they have not been well preserved.
caption: Riparian forest, Tajuña River
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